Friday, 17 July 2009

Saturday night worship!

Our church is in a time of great transition We are thinking about what it means to be a church that proclaims an ancient faith to a modern worldTo that end we are reflecting on what changes we need to make to the services and ministries we engage in

Part of that process involves seeing what others are doing, and one of the purposes of this blog is to capture those ideas in one place for future consideration not necessarily future implementation with that proviso I was interested in this on the Sydney diocese website

Saturday night gets ‘sacred’Emma OrsbornJuly 13th, 2009 Jannali Anglican Church is the most recent church to pick up on the Saturday night service trend, and two months on from their first service it is proving to be a success.

Following in the footsteps of churches like St Paul’s, Menai and Church by the Bridge, Jannali Anglican rector, the Rev Andrew Barry thinks Saturday night suits a lot of people.

“In our area there is a ‘Sunday morning culture’ that’s a long way from church,” he says. “A lot of people are involved in sport and work on Sunday.”

The service began in May and has already attracted a lot of new people, especially families with children.

“We have a very mission-minded set of church leaders,” says Mr Barry. “Saturday night seemed to suit many people not already at church”.

Mr Barry also says a big advantage of Saturday night church is the opportunity to spend time together – “sometimes people stay until midnight, you just can’t do that on Sunday night”.

Christians who have joined the service are excited about inviting their friends, and Mr Barry says one person told him the Saturday night service was like “church in manual, not automatic”.

Next month they plan to send letters to local organisations, such as hospitals and police stations, where employees work on Sundays, to let them know there is a church service that is easier for them to attend.

Meanwhile St Paul’s, Menai began Saturday night church seven years ago and it is now their largest service.